Starting Kindergarten

by Alexander
August 22, 2009

 

 

 

Dear Alexander,

(Q) I am going into kindergarten this year. My mom has always watched out for me, but now I’ll be in school without her. I am allergic to peanuts and tree nuts, and I am scared of not having my mom with me to make sure I don’t get a reaction. What do I do?

(A) I am sure you have been taught many things by your mom about taking care of your food allergies, such as not to eat any food except for the food that she or another trusted adult says is okay. You know to clean your eating area and wash your hands before and after you eat, and to ask questions about food ingredients.

Each year, thousands of kids who have food allergies go to school, but it takes some work from parents and the people who work at the school to come up with a plan for how food allergies will be taken care of. You can get involved, too, by teaching your new classmates about food allergies and why it’s important for you to be careful about what you eat.

Remember the teacher, nurse, and all of the people who work at the school are there to help you stay safe. If you have a question, or if you don’t feel good after eating, tell them right away. Also, be sure to talk to your parents about how you are feeling. They will help you so that you do not feel scared.

Good luck!

Your friend,
Alexander the Elephant

 

Editor’s Note: The information above is not designed to take the place of a doctor’s instructions. Patients are urged to contact a doctor for specific information regarding guidelines for care.

We would like to know what you think? dan@youngchronicle.com

Source: Food Allergy

Movie Review: Shorts

by Kerry Bennett
August 21, 2009

When Toby Thompson (Jimmy Bennett) finds a rainbow-striped rock capable of granting his every wish, the unpopular boy is sure his prospects are looking up. But when the other neighborhood kids and their parents get their hands on the magic stone, the whole world turns upside-down.

In-Depth Review

Shorts is rated PG: for mild action and some rude humor.

About all filmmaker Robert Rodriguez doesn’t seem to have done during the production of his latest family film was sew costumes and cater lunches. He may have been too busy in his roles as director, producer, writer, cinematographer, music composer, visual effects supervisor and film editor to worry about sandwiches.

He does, however, manage to find time to procure roles for three of his five children. Rocket and his brother Rebel star as schoolyard bullies who carry out the demands of the bossy and cruel Helvetica Black (Jolie Vanier). His son Rebel plays Lug, a young boy who uses the powers of a magical, rainbow-colored rock to conjure up an imposing rock fortress and a float of crocodiles.

But Lug isn’t the only kid to take advantage of the mysterious stone. When Toe Thompson (Jimmy Bennett) finds the rock and discovers its abilities, he believes all his problems at home with his sister (Kat Dennings) and at school are over. The first item on his wish list is friends. Yet before long, the flotilla of tiny alien spaceships that appear to keep him company prove to be more troublesome than friendly.

Tossed around the neighborhood of Black Falls, the polished, multi-striped aggregate grants the innermost desires of other adults and kids as well. Unfortunately most of the residents don’t make particularly wise choices when it comes to having their hopes realized. Their adventures with the rock unfold in a series of non-sequential shorts that take place at school, at the office and in the homes of the unusual residents that inhabit the town.

While the storyline resembles the fanciful undertakings seen in Rodriguez’s early family-oriented films (Spy Kids 1, Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams and Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over as well as The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl in 3D) where bullied children also live secret, powerful lives, parents may be less comfortable with this script’s amount of mimicable violence. Toe is stuffed into a garbage can headfirst even after trying to talk his way out of trouble with a gaggle of goons. On the way home, the boys pelt him with rocks and he falls from a tree after being knocked out. As a way to taunt Toe, a mean-spirited classmate swallows his pet fish, hits Toe in the head repeatedly and calls him names. Not only do students fall from the roof of the school after falling through an open window, there are also kids who intentionally break the windows of a house to gain access to the inside. Although most of these stunts are played for comedy, they, along with plenty of more fantastical depictions of a destructive robot, a defecating Pterodactyl and a living piece of nasal mucus may be too graphic and/or gross for younger viewers.

Jumping randomly from one mini story to the next like a cartoon on caffeine, this film about making your wishes come true may appeal most to audience members with very short attention spans.

Studio: 2009 Warner Brothers Pictures. Visit the official movie site.

Content Details: Beyond the Movie Ratings…

Bullies, adult and child, molest their employees and classmates with name-calling, threats, physical aggression and yelling. Students hit a boy with rocks. A character is stuffed in a garbage can and later falls from a tree. Students fall off the roof of a school. Characters are attacked by miniature aliens, a giant robot, chased by crocodiles, and carried off by a dinosaur. An explosion occurs in a science class covering the students with an unknown substance. A girl intentionally swallows a live fish. Siblings fight among themselves. A married couple experience stress and alienation because of a shared work project. A boy is swallowed by a crocodile and defecated on by a flying dinosaur. A boy repeatedly picks his nose. A blob of his mucus turns into a living, animated monster. A boy is covered with mucus after meeting up with the monster. Adults attack one another at a house party. Boys break a house window and enter the premise illegally. Characters scuffle with one another. A character is hit in the head and knocked out. Characters ride motorcycles without a helmet and talk on the phone while driving. Characters are frequently in peril. The script includes mild crude humor and a term of Deity.

Discussion Ideas: Talk About the Movie…

How are families portrayed in this film? Which family would you rather live with, the Thompsons, the Noseworthys, the Blacks or Lug and his brothers?

Robert Rodriguez often features bullied children in his films. How can children and teens best deal with bullies? How can adults help intervene? What positive attempts does Toe make to reason with the bullies?

Video alternatives

Although actor Jimmy Bennett is only 13-years-old, he already has an impressive number of credits on his acting resume, including roles as a pint-sized superhero in Daddy Day Care, the son of a shipbuilder in Evan Almighty, and a young James T. Kirk in Star Trek.

Source: Parent Previews

Editor’s Note: Kerry Bennett is interested in media from both a journalist and parent perspective. Along with authoring articles for several family-oriented publications, she has written for Parent Previews for nearly 10 years. She serves as Vice President of the Alberta Association for Media Awareness. She and her husband Garry have four sons.

We would like to know what you think? dan@youngchronicle.com

Shorts

FOSI Supports Point Smart Click Safe

By FOSI
August 23, 2009

Washington DC – Stephen Balkam, CEO of the Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI), made the following statement in support of the new PointSmart.ClickSafe. report, Task Force Recommendations for Best Practices for Online Safety and Literacy:

“The Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI) strongly supports the recommendations from the PointSmart.ClickSafe. Task Force and its emphasis on research, education and evaluation of existing online safety methods. Kids today are increasingly tech savvy.  It is vital that we help them develop digital media literacy skills and guide them how to use technology in a safe and responsible way.  At FOSI, we are working with various stakeholders to build a culture of responsibility online and this report will add impetus for a cohesive and collaborative approach to not only keep kids safe, but also to encourage personal resiliency and responsibility for their online actions.” Read the report & learn more

About FOSI
The Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI) works to make the online world safe for kids and their families by identifying and promoting best practices, tools and methods that also respect free speech. FOSI’s members include: AOL, AT&T, Blue Coat, BT Retail, Comcast, Computing Technology Industry Association, France Telecom/Orange, Google, GSMA, Loopt, Microsoft, MySpace, Ning, Nominum, Optenet, Privo, Rulespace, Sprint, StreamShield, Symantec, Telefónica, Telmex, The Wireless Foundation, Verizon and Yahoo!. FOSI hosts an annual international conference to bring together Internet safety advocates from a variety of sectors, including global corporations, government, non-profits, academia and the media, to discuss the current pulse of online safety and emerging solutions that will enhance it.

For more information on FOSI, www.youtube.com/fosi.

Source: Family Online Safety Institute

Editor’s Note: We would like to know what you think? dan@youngchronicle.com

FOSI Annual Conference 2008

Las Vegas CBS 4:00 News with Stephen Balkam

Wish of the Week – Priscilla 13 Years Old

By MWF
August 22, 2009

Millions of children dream about becoming superstars, and using their talents to reach audiences around the world. Priscilla’s dreams revolve around music—she wants to be a professional singer.

Priscilla is 13 years old, and when the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Southern Florida entered her life, she knew exactly what she wanted to do. She wanted to record her very own CD. With a little help from her new friends—namely legendary music producer Emilio Estefan—Priscilla can now proudly call herself a professional recording artist.

After determining her wish, the budding young star was whisked to Miami for a star-studded weekend. After spending her first evening at a 5-star hotel, the hotel staff knew they had a celebrity on their hands. At the hotel salon, Priscilla received a full makeover, before she headed to her photo shoot—after all, every professionally recorded CD needs a cover.

Finally, Priscilla arrived at Emilio’s studio—the same location artists such as Jon Secada and Emilio’s wife Gloria began their paths to stardom. Priscilla never imagined that she would achieve her lifelong dream by recording with one of the world’s most renowned music producers, and much less that it would happen when she was 13 years old.

After a long afternoon in the studio, Priscilla’s CD was completed and the music industry was introduced to its newest recording artist.

Source: Make A Wish Foundation

Editor’s Note: We would like to know what you think? dan@youngchronicle.com

Officer of the Week – Sergeant Rodney C. Gillis

Remember September 11, 2001
Angels Among Us
Sergeant Rodney C. Gillis
Shield 1889
ESU-8
August 19, 2009

 

Editor’s Note: We at the Chronicle, will never forget those police officers, who have given their lives in 9/11. Each week we will honor one with their stories.

This week we feature:

Sergeant Rodney C. Gillis
Shield 1889
ESU-8

New York City Police Officer Rodney Gillis had just finished his shift, which ended at 8 a.m., and was hanging around talking to his fellow officers with the Emergency Services Unit when the first plane smashed into the World Trade Center. As usual, he was the first one on the scene.

Gillis, 34, and other Emergency Services officers, who included his former high school teacher, Police Officer John Dallara from ESU Truck 3, were believed to be in the belly of the South Tower when it collapsed, Green said. ” We know his team penetrated deep into the building.”

Both Gillis and Dallara are among the 23 missing city police officers.

Gillis joined the department in 1988. Promoted to sergeant in 1997, he was loved and respected by his men in Emergency Services Truck 8, said Gillis’ former supervisor retired Lt. Richard Green, because he was brave and strong. ” And just a terrific guy.”

Green noted that Gillis, a Brownsville resident, was ” a Brooklyn boy through and through.” His mother, Geraldine, also lives in Brooklyn and his father, Otha, lives in North Carolina. He attended Park West High School in Brooklyn as a talented student and received a certificate from St. John’s University in Queens and a degree from the Island Drafting and Technical Institute in Amityville.

To those who know him, Gillis is thought of as something of a Renaissance man. On the job, he was trained as a scuba diver, has his EMT certification, is trained in emergency psychology and is also a technician who deals with hazardous materials. Off the job, he was remodeling both his and his parents’ home. He loves to play saxophone and is devoted to his three children..

But his dedication to the job, the one that made him run out the door with the rest of the crew after his shift was done, is what defined Gillis, Green said. ” He’s a true warrior.”

– New York Newsday Victim Database 9/26/2001

Source: NYP Angels

Soldier of the Week – Joshua Simson

By Dan Samaria
Publisher/YC
August 22, 2009

Editor’s Note:
Hometown: Overland Park, KS
Awarded: Silver Star

In 2007, Navy HM2 Joshua Simson was embedded with a joint U.S. military and Afghan National Army patrol to conduct key leader engagements in the village of Saret Kholet.  Simson was serving as an advisor on how to be a medical first responder.

On July 27, Simson demonstrated what committed first responders do when he repeatedly placed himself in the line of fire from machine guns, AK-47s and rocket-propelled grenades to single-handedly provide aid to more than a dozen wounded U.S. and Afghan National Army soldiers during an attack.

“After talking with the elders, we pushed further east to establish an observation post to watch a certain river crossing.  A squad of Afghan National Army had pushed across the river to clear two houses and spotted bad guys,” Simson explained.  “The Afghans fired at them, causing the Anti-Afghan Forces to initiate their ambush prematurely.”

“We were in the kill zone, but since we hadn’t pushed as far down the road as we had intended, we weren’t entirely surrounded,” said Simson, who joined the Navy in September 2005 out of a sense of obligation and ‘to pay back a small part of the debt towards the cost of freedom.’

“I knew about the heritage of corpsmen before I joined and the job appealed to me…taking care of my brothers on the battlefield,” Simson stated.

The ambush led to a seven-and-a-half hour battle.  At one point, Simson pulled a wounded soldier into a nearby bunker to provide cover.  Immediately after entering the bunker, it suffered a direct hit.  Dazed, but undeterred, Simson finished treating the Afghan soldier.

“We were caught in a very deadly crossfire.  We took a lot more casualties during this phase of the movement.” Simson said.  “I was taking care of casualties as best I could during the march out without becoming one myself.”

Throughout the ordeal, Simson said he repeated a sequence of tasks over and over.  “See or hear somebody need help, put out suppressive fire, move the man to cover if possible, and render lifesaving aid.”

Eventually the unit got to a clearing where it was safe to evacuate the injured.

“I was just trying to help out,” Simson recalled. “We were all a little exhausted by the end of the day.”

Simson was awarded the Silver Star for his actions on the battlefield; his willingness to expose himself repeatedly to potential injury or death coupled with his composure under fire was exemplary and inspiring to his fellow servicemen and the Afghan soldiers.
“There are many, many other sailors out there who perform incredible acts but fail to get properly recognized,” he said of the medal.  “It feels weird to have the attention for just trying to do the job that was required of me.  The men with me that day displayed great courage and determination in the face of withering fire.  This is what gave me the strength to do my job…my buddies who were right there with me.”

• Hometown: Overland Park, KS
• Awarded: The Silver Star

 

Editor’s Note: Excerpts from an article by Loren Stanton, Sun Publications, Sept. 23, 2008.

We would like to know what you think? dan@youngchronicle.com

 

Source: Our Military

Patient of the Week – Bria Brown

By Shands/PIO
August 20, 2009

Bria Brown, a 13 year-old Miami girl, calls herself the Queen Bee Survivor — and that she is. When she was only 6 years old, she was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a rare, progressive form of bone cancer. The disease targets the knees, one of the fastest growing areas in the legs. Osteosarcoma is so rare that only one baby in a million will develop the disease.

Bria’s mother Carol took Bria to the emergency room to be treated for an unrelated illness when Bria reminded her to talk with the doctor about the pain she was experiencing in her left leg. “I thought the pain had come from her jumping around and running,” said Brown.

Bria’s mother said after Bria was diagnosed with bone cancer, their lives were turned upside down. “Bria was hospitalized for almost nine months in Miami Children’s Hospital. She lost all of her hair from the chemotherapy, and I lived at the hospital,” said Brown.

After Bria completed chemotherapy seven years ago, she and her parents learned that the bone cancer had spread to other areas in her leg. The recommended solution was amputation. “That just wasn’t an option for us,” said Brown, who was determined to spare her daughter’s leg and quality of life.

Bria’s physician referred her family to a University of Florida orthopaedic surgeon in Gainesville who was helping patients avoid amputation thanks to a new rod implantation procedure.

“My husband told the doctor that we were radical people who were willing to consider anything besides amputation,” added Brown.

Life-changing surgery

In 2001, Bria and B. Hudson Berrey, M.D., a professor in the UF Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation, met for the first time with the hope of sparing Bria’s leg.

“Because the disease had almost spread to her hip, they didn’t think she was a candidate for a limb-sparing procedure, which is why they recommended amputation,” said Berrey, who performed Bria’s initial surgery seven years ago at Shands at the University of Florida in Gainesville.

Berrey said the most difficult part of performing the seven-hour surgery was removing all of the cancer, then removing the diseased femur (thigh bone). Berrey reconstructed Bria’s leg using a custom-made implant.

“The first rod grew her leg a fair number of inches, and then two years ago she had a revision. I replaced the original one, which had gotten as long as it would go. I redesigned the proximal end and put a new rod in to continue to watch her grow,” said Berrey.

As Bria grows, her leg can be lengthened by heating an element in the implant that allows a spring inside of it to expand, thus allowing her left leg to grow the same length as the right leg.

Berrey has shared this procedure with other orthopaedic surgeons but says there are very few surgeons who will do this type of procedure and address these problems. “You have to believe in it, and I believe it is the best solution that we have at this point in time,” said Berrey.

Building lasting relationships

Bria and her family make the trip to Shands Jacksonville every three to four months to have her leg adjusted. Berrey, who was appointed chair of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation at the UF College of Medicine-Jacksonville in 2002, have continued to develop a very special relationship with the Brown family. Bria says because Berrey saved her leg, she now wants to attend the UF and become a pediatrician.

“I want to give back because it is something I enjoy doing,” said Bria, who spends a lot of time dancing, and participating in extracurricular activities. She currently holds a 3.7 grade point average and has raised more than $120,000 for the American Cancer Society as a volunteer. “I will be going to Washington, D.C., in May to represent the state of Florida for the Spirit of the Community Award that will be presented by the American Cancer Society.”

Berrey said it has been a rewarding experience working with Bria and getting to know her family. “When I first met Bria, her sister Jada was just a baby and now she’s 6 years old, the same age Bria was when I performed her initial surgery. Now I have a special relationship with her father Ed Brown and her grandparents.”

Source: Shands Children Hospital

Editor’s Note: We would like to know what you think? dan@youngchronicle.com

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